GCSE (9-1)
Computer Science
Introduction to the Scheme of Work
Pearson Edexcel Level 1/Level 2 GCSE (9-1) in Computer Science (1CP2)
First teaching September 2020
First certification 2022 Issue 1
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© Pearson Education Limited 2020
Author: Product Management Page 2 of 5 Version 1.0
Approver: Assessment DCL1 – public Date: July 2020
Introduction to the Scheme of Work
1. Introduction
This scheme of work has been devised by experienced teachers to make
preparation and teaching of the Pearson Edexcel GCSE Computer Science
specification a little easier.
It is based on the assumption that teachers have two lessons a week over two
years in which to deliver the subject content of the course and develop students’
computational thinking and programming skills.
It divides the course into ten blocks of learning. For a two-year GCSE course this
could be, six in Year 10 and four in Year 11. Each block consists of six
computational thinking/programming lessons and six principles of computer
science lessons – one lesson per week for each of the two strands.
Interim assessments at the end of each block are designed to check students’
progress and identify any concepts or topics they are having difficulty grasping.
We recognise that every school is unique and that this scheme of work may not
suit everyone’s way of working. Teachers are free to adapt, replace or
supplement the materials to suit their students’ needs.
The scheme of work is available in two formats so that you can choose what is
best for your centre. You can use the functionality of the interactive SoW in
ActiveLearn and/or download the files from the Edexcel website (Word, PPT,
Python).
Content of the scheme of work
The top-level plan provides an overview of the structure of the course. It shows
what each lesson is about and which statement(s) from the subject content are
being addressed. You can find the top-level plan on the Edexcel website (course
materials/teaching and learning materials/scheme of work) called GCSE
Computer Science scheme of work. The top-level plan is also the default
arrangement of blocks in the interactive scheme of work in ActiveLearn.
A lesson plan, a PowerPoint presentation, a set of activities and a homework task
is provided for each lesson. You can find these on the Edexcel website (course
materials/teaching and learning materials/scheme of work) provided in folders by
half term. The resources are also provided within the lesson resources for each
lesson in ActiveLearn.
The lesson plan lists the specification statements covered and the resources
that are needed. It specifies the learning outcomes of the lesson and provides a
detailed plan of how these are to be achieved.
The PowerPoint presentation is a front-of-class resource that will help
teachers navigate through the lesson and explain new concepts a bit at a time.
The lesson activities (with solutions where appropriate) enable students to
practice new skills and reinforce their understanding.
Homework is set both to extend and to reinforce the skills and concepts. Many
of the homework tasks require the use of a computer. Centres must ensure that
students without access to a computer at home are given an opportunity to use a
school computer outside normal lesson times to complete the homework tasks.
All the materials used in this scheme of work are editable.
In-School / Out-of-School Python Environment
It is important that students get lots of practice interacting with a programming
environment to build confidence and skill. The programming environment they
use, both at school and at home, must support the Python 3 language.
Any of the free, no cost, options are suitable. Explore several different ones
before making a decision. You might want to start with one and move onto
others. It’s about building confidence and skills in your students.
If students have access to computers at home, they can duplicate these
environments for homework or practice.
Environments to consider include:
● Thonny: https://thonny.org/
● PyCharm: https://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/
● PyScripter: https://sourceforge.net/projects/pyscripter/
● NetBeans: https://netbeans.org/
● Eclipse: https://www.pydev.org/
● Visual Studio: https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/features/python/
● IDLE
For those students not able to duplicate the in-school environment, there are
suitable online Python environments that they can use at home or on non-IT
suite computers around the school. See, for example:
● https://repl.it/
● https://create.withcode.uk/
However, since access to the internet is not permitted during the Paper 2 exam,
it is better for students to use an off-line environment whenever possible.
Author: Product Management Page 4 of 5 Version 1.0
Approver: Assessment DCL1 – public Date: July 2020
July 2020
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